A Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Chief, Joseph Schnitt, was recently caught on hidden camera making statements about the disposition of files related to the DOJ's investigation, indictment, arrest, and plans to indict convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The files would have become part of official court documents had Epstein not died in the custody of the DOJ in August 2019, during the first term of MAGA Republican President—and longtime Epstein friend—Donald Trump.
Schnitt was asked if the Epstein files exist, something the Trump administration has repeatedly changed their story about.
The DOJ Deputy Chief responded:
"There's files for sure. There's, yeah, thousands and thousands of pages of files."
Schnitt then stated:
"They'll redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those files and have a very slanted version of it come out where it's 'look at what's going on' without really seeing any of [the Republicans'] bad behavior."
The video was edited and posted online by conservative conspiracy theorist and political activist James O'Keefe.
You can watch the video here:
The Trump administration, Trump himself, and his Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi in particular have drawn considerable criticism from across the political spectrum for their failure to release the full, unredacted Epstein files.
Bondi was the Florida state AG when Epstein's crimes—at locations that included his Florida home where he was one of Trump's neighbors—were being investigated by Trump’s DOJ.
When asked what Bondi wanted to do with the Epstein files, Schnitt replied:
"I don't know what Bondi wants. Bondi wants whatever Trump wants. She's just a yes-person."
He then seemed to confirm Trump appears in the files often, saying:
"[The files will be] heavily redacted and [Trump's] name won't be in it."
Trump campaigned in 2024 on a promise to release the full Epstein files immediately upon taking office, but quickly changed his tune once reelected.
Since taking office for his second term, Trump has offered a variety of stories and excuses to avoid keeping his campaign promise, including claiming there are no files and that former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden created the Epstein files—instead of Trump's own Department of Justice.
Schnitt also addressed the controversy over Ghislaine Maxwell—Epstein's close associate and another longtime Trump friend who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking.
On August 1, the Trump administration confirmed Maxwell was moved to a new minimum security facility in Texas after she held two meetings with the deputy U.S. attorney general regarding what she knew about the Epstein case.
During the recording, Schnitt said:
"[Maxwell] got transferred to a minimum security prison, too, recently, which is against [Bureau of Prisons] policy because she's a convicted sex offender and they're not supposed to get minimum security prisons, which is an interesting detail because she's getting a benefit, which means [DOJ is] offering her something to keep her mouth shut."
O'Keefe's video is another nail in Trump's coffin. His popularity has continued to drop and even some of his MAGA minions are turning away from him over his waffling, excuses, and outright lies about the Epstein files.
So after the video of Schnitt dropped online, Bondi's DOJ scrambled to explain it away.
In a statement sent to Newsweek, a DOJ official wrote:
"The comments in this video have absolutely zero bearing with reality and reflect a total lack of knowledge of the DOJ's review process. The DOJ is committed to transparency and is in compliance with the House Oversight Committee's request for documents."
In a statement to O'Keefe, DOJ claimed:
"Joseph Schnitt had no role in the Department's internal review of Epstein materials. He has confirmed as much to leadership and we plan to publish his written statement to that effect when we have it."
"In his own words, the comments Mr. Schnitt made were based on 'what he learned in the media' and he 'has no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Maxwell other than what was reported in the news.'"
After which, the DOJ quickly posted a note on X, allegedly from Schnitt, stating:
"I met a woman named Skylar on Hinge, a dating app, in July 2025, her profile is no longer findable. We had two dates (August 4 and August 16). She claimed to be an au pair in Georgetown. She gave no clues that she was a reporter or recording our dates. Had I a clue, the first date would have ended immediately and there never would have been a second one..."
"The comments I made were my own personal comments on what I've learned in the media and not from anything I've done at or learned via work. I have no knowledge of the circumstances surrounding Ms. Maxwell other than what is reported in the news. I also never divulged anything about what I do at work. I recall that she asked if I had any knowledge about Maxwell and I specifically said I only know what's been reported in the media."
The DOJ's post almost immediately received a public note adding context, and the comments didn't favor the DOJ.
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After making such a big deal about the Epstein files before the election, the Trump administration has been desperate to distract the public and make the matter go away, including using their Republican allies in Congress to try every trick in the book to block the files' release.
But voters from the far right to the far left are unlikely to forget and move on.
Almost every social media post coming from the Trump administration is hit with calls to release the files—without redactions.
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